I don't see what is bad about starting Marty. It isn't a sign the DeBoer thinks he is as good as Schneider (as we all know he isn't even close). DeBoer has been playing the goalie who wins, there was a time he even played Hedberg over Marty for that reason. It isn't about stats at all: right now the goalie with whom the team is performing better for gets the call. Marty had a really bad game outside and guess what?: He sat healthy for probably the longest period in his career.

Hey, I'd like to see Schneider in net 90% of the time - sometimes Marty can't stop a beach ball. However, we've won with Marty in net more times than we have won with Cory in net this season. So, no matter why that is, it's perfectly legitimate to play Marty because despite the stats, the Devils are coming out with wins.

Based on this statement Marty should start Friday. I don't believe that I didn't think he should have started Tuesdays game it was too risky but he did and we were lucky that Detroit scored a goal for us while Marty allowed at least one softie.

Re: Ruutu, in some ways it's like the Devils got him for nothing. Loktionov wasn't going to be here after this year anyway. Maybe he turns into something for someone else, but the guess here is he'll continue to show why he was taken in the 5th round, if he's even in the NHL next season. The fact is that if you really show something and force yourself to be noticed, teams will find a way to get you in the lineup, or at the very least, in more significant roles. He opened some eyes with that 7 goal, 4 assist burst in his first 18 GP as a Devil, but he hadn't done much since (13 points in his last 58 GP). Maybe the simple fact is the reason Loki never really made a name for himself here or in LA is that he's simply not very good and hasn't really progressed much. As for a conditional 2017 3rd-rounder, I can't worry about a mid-round pick that's several seasons away. I'm guessing the reason it's so far off is that it's contigent on Ruutu re-signing with the Devils? Anyway, the pick isn't really a big deal.

As for Ruutu himself, he's not a sexy player and his salary is not great, but at least the 'Canes are on the hook for 20% of the cash he has coming to him. Hopefully his low shooting% is due for some positive regression. But I've moved from the "WTF?!" camp to the "OK, doesn't look great at first glance, but let's give it a chance" group. I like that he at least can get a practice or two in with his new teammates.

The fact that the defensive logjam hasn't been alleviated is frustrating. At first, I was surprised that Lou couldn't get Carolina to take a bad contract back, but Carolina was clearly looking to shed salary and not do a wash, so I guess it's safe to say Carolina wasn't taking salary back. I'm guessing unless Loki shows them a hell of a lot, they'll just let him walk. I don't think the 'Canes cared much about what they were getting back, I think they were just looking to get some coin off their cap for the offseason. Loki's #1 appeal to them was probably the fact that his contract was expiring and cheap to boot. I don't think they were trying to nab a prospect.

Re: Marty...the ball is really in his court now. No matter what happens between now and the end of the season, unless he rips the Devils organization or the fans, I think whatever bad feelings some Devils fans are currently having towards him will subside...if Devils fans can get past Scott Niedermayer leaving their team to go win a Cup with someone else, they can get past anything. For all the "Greedermayer", "Needmybrother", and "Mamma's Boy" hatred that came his way just after and during his Ducks career, people got over it, and were willing to celebrate his number retirement without issue...most truly embraced the event, and him as a result. All Marty really has to do is the following and he'll be fine:

1) Act like you're 100% happy to still be a Devil, even if you're not. Say some things to that effect.

2) No talk about playing time (or lack thereof) or playing next season. No one wants to hear that from a declining .899 save% 41-year-old, especially when the other guy is clearly much better. The less you say about this, the less guys like PDB and Lou and teammates and others have to look bad saying things and singing praises that just about every Devils fan knows are horsesh!t. If fans know you're not terribly good anymore, you can bet that everyone else does too, even if they don't dare say it.

3) For the remaining 19 games of this season, be a good soldier. You WILL get some games, probably more than you deserve. You won't be put out to pasture. Make the most of them.

4) Please retire at the end of this year. Don't Messier your way into making the Devils keep you around for one last season when every last sign points to you being finished. Don't make the NHL force you to retire. Do it on your terms, as a Devil, end of this season, gracefully.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976, 06 March 2014 - 07:53 AM.

2

THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

CR76 I agree, but with Marty, and I hope he proves me wrong, is that he shuts his mouth and accepts his new role and that's it. I can't have him play another year. I just am a disgusted at these legacy starts. I really feel, also, that Marty will play tomorrow night in Detroit.

I don't see what is bad about starting Marty. It isn't a sign the DeBoer thinks he is as good as Schneider (as we all know he isn't even close). DeBoer has been playing the goalie who wins, there was a time he even played Hedberg over Marty for that reason. It isn't about stats at all: right now the goalie with whom the team is performing better for gets the call. Marty had a really bad game outside and guess what?: He sat healthy for probably the longest period in his career.

Hey, I'd like to see Schneider in net 90% of the time - sometimes Marty can't stop a beach ball. However, we've won with Marty in net more times than we have won with Cory in net this season. So, no matter why that is, it's perfectly legitimate to play Marty because despite the stats, the Devils are coming out with wins.

There is no time 'ever' DeBoer went with a healthy Hedberg over Marty for a multi-game stretch. Marty was hurt early in '11-12 for about three weeks, that's the only reason why his and Hedberg's GP were so close into January.

0

"The Devils have high standards, that's the difference. We have a standard to live up to every year, and a couple of teams in our area don't have the standards we do." - Pat Burns

The New Jersey Devils win Stanley Cups everywhere:-NHL record for most road wins in the playoffs - 10-1 in '95 and 10-2 in '00-NHL record for most home wins in the playoffs - 12-1 in '03

Marty is going to play a little bit going forward. He has to, we need a backup to start a little. I'm fine with that, but you have to be really selective. Try to keep it against weaker teams on home-ice.

And btw, F the league for all these back-to-backs.

Marty's rest of the season should look like this:

@Florida 3/14

Florida 3/31

Carolina 4/5

Depending on the playoff race if he plays against the Isles or Senators. If we're in the playoffs, play him against Boston to end the season. I swear to god if we need that Boston game to get in and they play Marty, I'd flip out.

Well said CR76- I was really taken aback yesterday by how many people were upset that Marty wasn't moved. Everything about the situation has been hearsay so far... Nothing Marty or anyone else in the lockerroom has said publicly thus far can be construed in any way as being divisive or hurting the team.

Re: Marty...the ball is really in his court now. No matter what happens between now and the end of the season, unless he rips the Devils organization or the fans, I think whatever bad feelings some Devils fans are currently having towards him will subside...if Devils fans can get past Scott Niedermayer leaving their team to go win a Cup with someone else, they can get past anything. For all the "Greedermayer", "Needmybrother", and "Mamma's Boy" hatred that came his way just after and during his Ducks career, people got over it, and were willing to celebrate his number retirement without issue...most truly embraced the event, and him as a result. All Marty really has to do is the following and he'll be fine:

1) Act like you're 100% happy to still be a Devil, even if you're not. Say some things to that effect.

2) No talk about playing time (or lack thereof) or playing next season. No one wants to hear that from a declining .899 save% 41-year-old, especially when the other guy is clearly much better. The less you say about this, the less guys like PDB and Lou and teammates and others have to look bad saying things and singing praises that just about every Devils fan knows are horsesh!t. If fans know you're not terribly good anymore, you can bet that everyone else does too, even if they don't dare say it.

3) For the remaining 19 games of this season, be a good soldier. You WILL get some games, probably more than you deserve. You won't be put out to pasture. Make the most of them.

4) Please retire at the end of this year. Don't Messier your way into making the Devils keep you around for one last season when every last sign points to you being finished. Don't make the NHL force you to retire. Do it on your terms, as a Devil, end of this season, gracefully.

I agree with everything you say but there is one huge difference between him and Niedermayer. Scott was never a detriment to the team and acted like a true professional throughout. I know there were some early season hold outs earlier in his career but that was still when Lou ruled with a iron fist. I always felt like he did nothing but help us win games and was never a distraction. The rules were set that at a certain age, he became a UFA and he decided to go somewhere else. I have no problem with that. I had a bigger problem with the fact that it took years for Lou to adequately replace him. You can argue he never did.

With Marty, it has been nothing but wanting more playing time and doing what is best for him over the last 6 months. I don't think the guy owes me anything personally but as a Devils fan, I find it sickening to see the way he's treating the organization that has done just as much, if not more for him, than he as he has done for them. Hopefully, yesterday was a wake up call to him about his true value and he'll keep his mouth shut for the rest of the season and be the good soldier but who knows. I know I've lost a ton of respect for the guy and it's going to be an even tougher pill to swallow if we miss the playoff by a point or two.

Marty is going to play a little bit going forward. He has to, we need a backup to start a little. I'm fine with that, but you have to be really selective. Try to keep it against weaker teams on home-ice.

And btw, F the league for all these back-to-backs.

Marty's rest of the season should look like this:

@Florida 3/14

Florida 3/31

Carolina 4/5

Depending on the playoff race if he plays against the Isles or Senators. If we're in the playoffs, play him against Boston to end the season. I swear to god if we need that Boston game to get in and they play Marty, I'd flip out.

Everyone keeps saying this, but we don't actually. Brodeur would regularly start 75+ games, and even when Brodeur went down last year, Hedberg started as many games in a row until Brodeur got back.

Schneider got weeks off, so he is going to be well rested. It comes down to the Devils not treating Brodeur like a typical Devils backup when he might as well be Kinkaid or Clemmensen.

0

"The Stanley Cup has fallen from the Stars. The new millennium has its first Stanley Cup Champion, and it's the New Jersey Devils." Mike Miller calling the Devils winning the Stanley Cup.

"It goes to the captain and then there are handoffs during a skate around the ice" Mike Emrick as Scott Stevens is being presented the Stanley Cup.

Lat, in fairness to Marty, I don't think he's been constantly going out of his way to bring his situation up to the media...he comments on it when asked. The deadline had a lot to do with the frequency of the questions ramping up. One could argue that he could (or should) have been a little less forthcoming, maybe come across a little less "me first", but I think this has been, and remains, a very difficult adjustment for him.

The rest is all speculation at this point...we've heard from Kypreos-types that Marty's supposedly not happy with still being a Devil, but I'm not willing to take their collective word for it. Marty doesn't really have to do much here except say that he supports the Devils and is happy to be here whether he plays in 3 games or 13, and not talk about next year until this season is over. It's OK to lie through his teeth in this case about the particulars...his teammates, GM, and coach have been doing it on his behalf for months now.

0

THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

Everyone keeps saying this, but we don't actually. Brodeur would regularly start 75+ games, and even when Brodeur went down last year, Hedberg started as many games in a row until Brodeur got back.

Schneider got weeks off, so he is going to be well rested. It comes down to the Devils not treating Brodeur like a typical Devils backup when he might as well be Kinkaid or Clemmensen.

Brodeur never should've been playing that much. He wasn't worse in back to back games, so maybe that's why he played so much, but I think that was largely an accident. There was really no sense in Brodeur playing 75 games a year - Schneider should've gotten 62 games this year.

Re: Ruutu, in some ways it's like the Devils got him for nothing. Loktionov wasn't going to be here after this year anyway. Maybe he turns into something for someone else, but the guess here is he'll continue to show why he was taken in the 5th round, if he's even in the NHL next season. The fact is that if you really show something and force yourself to be noticed, teams will find a way to get you in the lineup, or at the very least, in more significant roles. He opened some eyes with that 7 goal, 4 assist burst in his first 18 GP as a Devil, but he hadn't done much since (13 points in his last 58 GP). Maybe the simple fact is the reason Loki never really made a name for himself here or in LA is that he's simply not very good and hasn't really progressed much. As for a conditional 2017 3rd-rounder, I can't worry about a mid-round pick that's several seasons away. I'm guessing the reason it's so far off is that it's contigent on Ruutu re-signing with the Devils? Anyway, the pick isn't really a big deal.

I'm sorry, but Loktionov did not 'show why he was picked in the 5th round'. 5th round players seldom become regular NHLers. A player's draft position really carries little weight 6 years away from the draft. Loktionov has run bad in terms of on-ice SH%, not much other way to put it. He himself is probably not a great shooter. Either way, there's a regular NHL player in there, and he added a dynamism to NJ that Ruutu does not, so that's a little disappointing. It's more disappointing that we have to see Henrique moved off the wing where he has been excellent for center which is a position I don't think he plays particularly well.

As for Ruutu himself, he's not a sexy player and his salary is not great, but at least the 'Canes are on the hook for 20% of the cash he has coming to him. Hopefully his low shooting% is due for some positive regression. But I've moved from the "WTF?!" camp to the "OK, doesn't look great at first glance, but let's give it a chance" group. I like that he at least can get a practice or two in with his new teammates.

Positive regression should not be 'expected' - this is the gambler's fallacy. We should expect Ruutu to shoot closer to his career norm than what he's done this year. Still, if he's not getting PP time he shouldn't do a ton.

One thing Ruutu does do is give them a little depth in case of injury - the Devils aren't tremendously deep right now. Josefson would be the 13th forward, but then it's either Boucher, Sislo, or Sestito are the first callups - hopefully Ruutu forestalls that a little bit.

I'm sorry, but Loktionov did not 'show why he was picked in the 5th round'. 5th round players seldom become regular NHLers. A player's draft position really carries little weight 6 years away from the draft. Loktionov has run bad in terms of on-ice SH%, not much other way to put it. He himself is probably not a great shooter. Either way, there's a regular NHL player in there, and he added a dynamism to NJ that Ruutu does not, so that's a little disappointing. It's more disappointing that we have to see Henrique moved off the wing where he has been excellent for center which is a position I don't think he plays particularly well.

Positive regression should not be 'expected' - this is the gambler's fallacy. We should expect Ruutu to shoot closer to his career norm than what he's done this year. Still, if he's not getting PP time he shouldn't do a ton.

One thing Ruutu does do is give them a little depth in case of injury - the Devils aren't tremendously deep right now. Josefson would be the 13th forward, but then it's either Boucher, Sislo, or Sestito are the first callups - hopefully Ruutu forestalls that a little bit.

Loktionov was a healthy scratch for six straight games at one point. Sure sounds like a guy struggling to become a regular NHLer to me. I remember some thinking the trade was a steal at the time it was made. Devils did get 76 NHL games out of him, which I guess isn't a bad return for the 5th-rounder they gave up (a lot of 5th-rounders never get that far), but it wasn't like LA got fleeced. At 23 going on 24, he's already on his third team...we'll see if Carolina re-signs him, or if he goes to the KHL or NHL team #4.

Never said anything about "expecting" positive regression...simply hoping for some. You're always the guy who would say something like "A career 12.1% shooter is not going to shoot 6.3% for the season, he's due for some luck." Obviously shot quantity will factor in heavily. Gotta see how the Devils plan on using him.

0

THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

I'm not a rational kind of guy... I wanna have Marty another 10 years between the pipes !

I know... I knoooow...

Whatever !

MARTY !

I saw so many people with a HUGE EGO in my life already...But so little got as many excuse as Marty got !

I let all the rational people here wanna see him buried in retirement house or worse... in another franchise. Meanwhile, i will be childish, silly, naive, irrational & plain stupid... and Keep thinking that Marty is here for another 10 years.

At the end, rational people are more often right.. and they will be in this case... probably ; )

But i don't care being wrong (for once ; ) )... I don't wanna grow up ! And I love you Marty !

Edit: regarding Marty and others being better...it seems he can acknowledge that Corey/Luongo are better goalies but he has zero clue of what it takes to play in the NHL. Zero.

Suggesting Marty has no idea what it takes to play in the NHL is a little ridiculous. He's played in the NHL more than any other goalie. He knows what it takes. He just can't accept that he doesn't have it anymore.

0

Official NJDevs.com Keeper of Gory Corey Schwab, Mike Peluso, Troy Crowder, Jeff Frazee, and Rich Shulmistra."The Devils are that zombie that takes an ax to the skull, a bullet to the temple and is set on fire … and yet keeps lumbering along to the annoyance of all the other zombies." - Puck Daddy